Amy and I were long overdue for a trip out to Fort Whyte, Winnipeg’s brilliant nature and interpretive centre, and so positively jumped at the opportunity to attend the launch of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas. The Atlas is a long-term citizen science project which aims to build up an accurate picture of resident and visiting birds – crucial for determining habitats and numbers. We were lured there partly by the chance to chat to interesting bird-watching types and partly by the wine and cheese on offer, but mostly by the opportunity to meet a long-eared owl (Asio otus) and a northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus).

Note: No owl extermination occurred. The title of this post is one of my and Amy’s most-quoted lines from the Futurama filmBender’s Game. Enjoy it here. And yes, the title of the last post was also an appropriate Futurama quote, this time from Nibbler.